Reset
by dustbowls
Summary: The Uchiha took over Konoha, Itachi quit the ANBU, and something sinister is afoot. A moment in a not-so-routine mission. First scenario of the "He was Captain" series.
1. After the Rain

**Note: **First scenario of the "He was Captain" series. In this world, the Uchiha took over Konoha in a successful coup. Keep in mind that this is just a snapshot for fun. I have no guarantees of continuing this – or rather, I have various scenarios in which Itachi, one way or another, was/is still/becomes an ANBU captain (again) at some point in time while _older than thirteen. _I am also dissatisfied with fanfic!ANBU-Itachi, but my theory on his character/personality is probably not fun to read, so I'll keep it to myself unless asked. ^_^''

Confused?

TL; DR: Each scenario is a separate alternate universe. Itachi is or was ANBU captain in each at an age greater than thirteen. The Uchiha Clan took over Konoha in this one.

And I toss in Hana Inuzuka because she's just a fun viewpoint character. Plus, it's amusing to try and figure out how to include her.

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><p>Hana finished setting the last trap around the copse where the Uchiha had decided they would stop for the night and returned to the low fire in three bounds. The Haimaru brothers slipped into the shadows, watching for intruders. They were as good as half a dozen jounin at guard duty. And most of the time, that was all most anybody who was not an Inuzuka gave them credit for.<p>

Unquestioning. Loyal without reservations. Wasn't that what everyone said about the Inuzuka and their dogs? That, and they could track a scent forty days old, after a mudslide and a hurricane had ripped through the last known location of the target.

It had only been a matter of time.

The Uchiha had found a use for the Inuzuka at last. Never mind that they could have commanded a Hyuuga to search any hidden place with his Byakugan, or an Aburame to send out his kikai bugs, or even order one of their own to track the _jinchuuriki_. Which they had, in a way, but it was really a test of usefulness and loyalty to the regime. The Uchiha had worked their way through the stronger, flashier clans. It was the Inuzuka's turn.

Hana was only here because she belonged to the generation on the verge of coming into power. Not really because she could track down the Nine-Tails' vessel faster than anyone else – at least, she didn't think so. But who cared what she thought?

Anyway, it wasn't a bad thing to be underestimated. That was how the Inuzuka had survived for so long in a Konoha run by the Uchiha clan, after all. With all the Hyuuga – Branch House, Main House, it didn't matter anymore – forcibly given the Caged Bird Seal, and most of the other families with bloodline limits threatened into submission, there was hardly any resistance possible. It had been a huge triumph for the Uchiha when they unmasked the secretive "Root" organization behind the village council, because that gave them the opportunity to make an example of Danzou and a pretext for tightening their control.

Special family techniques were copied flawlessly with the Sharingan. Fugitives were hunted down by Uchiha-controlled ANBU divisions, which were led by only the strongest of the clan.

That made _this _one's resignation from ANBU especially odd.

Hana would have stolen an involuntary glance at him, but he was out of sight at the moment. Only a hint of his scent among the pine needles betrayed his presence. Since she had gone to prepare the campsite, he had assumed her previous location – downwind of everything else. Forcing her to take up a position upwind of him. Unless she made a fuss about feeling uncomfortable, this was how it would go. Hana knew she had to pick her battles.

Uchiha Itachi, formerly an ANBU captain who had never failed a mission and never lost a squad member except when the individual in question was being… rebellious, had been poised to inherit both the position of clan leader and the title of commander over all ANBU divisions. It made no real sense to remove him from the ANBU roster.

Unless, of course, his clan was preparing him for a darker, even more terrible career.

No one had heard anything that could remotely explain this. The Uchiha clan discussed strategies in the heart of the Uchiha compound, which non-family relations were barred from entering. And Hana had figured that she'd rather not know. Resistance was a lovely dream, but not something she would do more than contemplate when her brother was still twelve and mostly powerless against the average Uchiha clan member. Not when her brother was an idiot who still hadn't learned to control his mouth, and yet remembered that day, long ago, when their family had handed several puppies over to the care of a masked young man who had promised solemnly to raise them well and return to help free Konoha from the Uchiha. The man's name was Hatake Kakashi, and he had possessed one Sharingan, thanks to a deceased Uchiha Obito.

But the story seemed to end with his disappearance. Wonders of wonders, Obito's cenotaph remained despite the disgrace heaped upon him by his surviving relatives. Hana went to check on it every year, at first surprised that it was still there. Maybe it was bait. Just in case Kakashi got sentimental and left flowers or something. It had been a stupid habit of Hana's to look in on it. _Oh, it's still there_ – as if her visits ensured its continued existence.

On one of these visits, she had run into a little Uchiha with the soot-black eyes, dark hair, and pale skin typical of his family, and the conceitedness to match. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just… walking," she had answered lamely. The boy's eyes narrowed. Hana realized that she had seen him around before. In his natural state, he had spiky, unruly black hair that stuck out from the back of his head, but the rain kept trying to beat it down.

"Why did you wait until it was raining?"

Well, because there would be no one else around. Even as a kid, Hana had sensed that publicly visiting the memorial of a disgraced Uchiha might have some unpleasant ramifications. "What are _you _doing out here?"

"I'm the one asking questions," the boy said arrogantly. "Why don't you tell me your name and –" His eyes widened as he suddenly heard low growls around his feet. They had come from three ash-grey heads within snapping distance of his calves. The Haimaru brothers stood as tall as his elbow.

"I'm Hana. My dogs wanted to go out." She called the Haimaru brothers to her. Confrontation with this unknown child was probably not the best idea.

The Uchiha's mouth curved into a sneer. "Dogs. I guess you can't stop them when they want to go, huh?"

Hana watched his face for some hint of deeper malice, but so far, it only looked like a childish urge to intimidate. A six-year-old boy asserting his authority over a twelve-year-old girl who towered over him. "May I go home, now?"

He dismissed her with a lordly nod. Instead of loping downhill as they usually did, the Haimaru brothers kept their bodies between Hana and the Uchiha boy. What a joke.

Hana had been so incensed, so disgusted with the incident that she forgot herself and told her younger brother, Kiba, who had also been six at the time. With single-minded determination, Kiba soon found out that the Uchiha boy was none other than Sasuke, the second son of the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku. Younger brother to Itachi.

Untouchable.

So of course, Kiba vowed eternal vengeance.

Younger brothers were such idiots. Hana wished she was home, keeping an eye on Kiba. If he did something silly in her absence… if he got hurt… if the Uchiha decided he was being too insolent and made an example of him, too…

No point worrying about it now. Hana pulled up the hood of her cloak and tried to focus on something else. Unfortunately, it had begun to drizzle, as it had intermittently for the entire day. Raindrops splashed over leaves and dangled from her eyelashes. She struggled against the urge to scratch her legs where the grass blades prickled her bare skin. Grey mist blurred the trees' shadows. An owl hooted. Insects twitched in the underbrush. It was a forest full of life, yet desolate.

The knowledge that Itachi was somewhere among the branches felt like a collar around her neck. The faster this mission ended, the better. All Hana had to do was to prove herself a competent, but average ninja. Someone who could neither hurt nor help the Uchiha clan's ambitions, except as another body in general conflicts. Maybe when a war started.

A chill rippled over the hairs of her skin. What with the Uchiha's obvious aggression, diplomatic relations between Konoha and any other hidden village were unlikely to last. It was strange how war _hadn't _happened yet.

Or maybe the clan was keeping the entire village in the dark about that, too.

A sudden, familiar whiff of something metallic and faintly medicinal tickled Hana's nose. Gritting her teeth against the urge to sneeze, she glanced to her left and saw two figures emerge from the grey dimness of the forest. Their medic had returned. He was accompanied by Tekka, who was the fourth member of the squad and, predictably, an Uchiha.

The medic set down a canteen near Hana's foot and crouched by the softly hissing embers. "I took the liberty of refilling yours as well, when I was down by the stream." He shot her a faint smile through his pale bangs. His glasses were flecked with rain.

"Thank you, Kabuto," Hana said stiffly, reclaiming the canteen. She made a mental note not to use it again until she had scoured it twice and checked for hidden jutsu. Prior to the mission, she hadn't thought it possible for her to distrust anyone more than the Uchiha, but as it turned out, the medic gave her even worse vibes.

Granted, it could also be an Uchiha trick to misdirect her attention. Hana watched both men from the corner of her eye. Tekka was checking his kunai with a dour look on his face. Kabuto stretched a little, peeling off one of his gloves to rub the calluses on his palm.

No, Hana decided; it was just safer to trust no one.

"Hana," said Tekka. He was the oldest member of the team by five or six years, while the rest of them – Kabuto, Hana, Itachi - were consecutively younger by a year starting from nineteen. At that moment, the deep frown made Tekka look even older than his twenty-five years. As they said, make an ugly expression too often, and it'll freeze on your face someday.

"Yes, Uchiha-san?"

"Didn't anyone set traps around here, in case an enemy approached?"

"Yes. I did."

"They're sub-par."

Was it worth explaining that even with the light rain, the Haimaru brothers had known who it was, alerted her, and stood by while the two other members of the team returned? Tekka's exasperated contempt stung.

Or maybe it was for the better, given the role she had decided to play. "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time, Uchiha-san."

"There might not have been a next time," snapped Tekka, and Hana knew she was safe. Just another way for the Uchiha to let off steam on the rank-and-file ninja. "Your carelessness could cost lives. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Hana said, unable to sound entirely contrite. "I understand."

"Where is Itachi?"

Hana's eyebrow rose at the man's disrespectful way of referring to his squad leader, a fellow Uchiha. It seemed to register on Kabuto as well, though the medic never lifted his head.

Itachi dropped soundlessly from his higher perch, answering the question. "What did you learn, Tekka?"

The resentful flicker in Tekka's eyes was unmistakable, but he complied. "In my preliminary sweep of the town, I learned that two guests, one of them a blond boy around twelve years old and with facial markings, are staying in one of the inns. I followed the chakra signatures, one of which was indisputably that of a tailed beast. The other one was faint, either belonging to a weak shinobi or suppressed. Their trail disappeared suddenly within the room. It appears that the vessel and his self-appointed protector have moved using a dimensional-spatial technique."

Hana could now understand some of Tekka's black mood.

"Then we have no lead?" Kabuto asked mildly. Tekka looked ready to bite his head off for daring to speak.

"The vessel's protector may be circumspect, but the vessel himself might not have been so discreet," said Itachi. "It is possible that he inadvertently left some clues through his speech or actions. We'll enter the town in disguise and find out everything we can about the two guests."

"And then?" Tekka demanded. "What if we find nothing?"

Instead of snapping at his older relative, Itachi met his stare. Hana couldn't see either of their eyes very well, but a gleam of crimson surfaced in both. Tekka looked away first. "That is unlikely," Itachi said evenly. "For now, I suggest you take the time to rest, since you are tired."

"I am not –"

"– Although that is still no excuse for speaking to your captain in that tone."

Tekka's belligerent expression froze on his face. A beat passed, then two. "Please excuse my lapse, captain." He sounded as though he was speaking through clenched teeth. "I meant no disrespect. I…I must be more tired than I thought."

Itachi nodded. His gaze swung over to Hana without warning. "Hana, which of the Haimaru brothers is watching the northeast octant?"

He knew she had left it mostly bare to be a trap all on its own, but that wasn't what mystified Hana. Itachi had bothered to learn the brothers' names, even though most people simply referred to them as Hana's dogs. "Chusa."

"Tell Chusa to crouch lower. I could see the tip of his ear."

"Yes, captain." She'd remember, in case she ever needed to lay a similar trap for her current teammates.

"Kabuto."

"I saw no one by the stream, captain. All clear."

Despite the dissatisfying answer – or maybe only Hana found it dissatisfying – Itachi let it go.

They changed their position throughout the night, staying within the loose perimeter of traps that Hana had set around camp. Watch rotations changed every two and a half hours. Hana's watch was second to last that night, right before the captain's. When she went to wake Itachi, he was already up, a lesser shadow among the foliage. She located him only by his stillness and by approaching a half-circle downwind of him.

It was a half-hour before dawn, and the sky was as dark as a cavern's ceiling, heavy clouds blotting out all the stars. "Captain." Hana's voice was hoarse from disuse.

"Go rest, Hana."

His guard had lowered, for fatigue to creep into his voice like that. "Have you slept at all?" The air was a little cooler and clearer now that the rain had stopped – though there was more to come, if the cloud cover was any indication. She breathed in quietly, trying to read the information in the Uchiha's scent, information he could not hide.

Strong fingers clasped her shoulder, applying a slight pressure. "I told you to go." He sounded startlingly close. In the dark, she hadn't realized that she had crossed into his personal space.

"People make mistakes when they're tired," she said. "They're not as alert." As if concern for the captain's wellbeing had motivated her to investigate.

"Is this relevant?" Uchiha was getting prickly.

"Just a little. Captain."

The pause hadn't been deliberate, but Hana had been distracted by her own attempt to find out the truth, and fawning and scraping over the Uchiha's higher rank were not her default mode of interaction. On the heels of Tekka's rudeness, though, it must have come across as challenging.

The grip on her shoulder tightened… and loosened abruptly. "Then don't be tiresome, Hana."

She flipped under the branch and landed lightly on the forest floor. The possibility that he stayed awake twenty-four seven, the fact that Tekka, an older Uchiha clearly here to supervise the mission, didn't get along with him, the knowledge that Itachi had had some say in who comprised this team sent to find the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox… there was a larger picture behind it, and in piecing that together, Hana might see where the heir to the Uchiha clan was weak, and gaps in the armor of the clan's self-professed invulnerability.

Useful things to know, when you wanted to give that daydream about resistance a more realistic edge.

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><p>Shukuba was bizarrely vibrant, lively, and not at all what Hana had been expecting. Not until they had arrived in a different town had the lack of an overwhelming Uchiha presence sunk in. It had only been four, almost five years since the Uchiha clan had taken control of Konoha, retaining the Hokage's title as an empty seat. But it had been a long time since Konoha had been anything like <em>this. <em>

A general air of contentment pervaded the town, which was populated by cheerful restaurant owners, a street full of shopkeepers in friendly competition with each other, mothers leading their children by the hand, and old, contented tourists. It seemed faintly magical, especially because Itachi had allowed them all – disguised as uninteresting civilians – to walk in during an unexpected respite from the rain. The sun shone tentatively on a ground gleaming with puddles and on strings of festively colored lanterns, which hung from one building to another. Hana could only imagine how they would look at night.

She'd almost forgotten how it was to turn a corner without confronting a ubiquitous red and white fan symbol. No one in Shukuba had to answer any sudden, "official queries" on the street. No black-clad, somber Uchiha policemen glared at your every move. People went at the pace _they _wanted to go on wide, generous roads, pausing at store fronts and criticizing the food and the management without looking over their shoulder. They'd recognize the Uchiha clan symbol if they saw it, but they didn't have the whiplash that almost everyone in Konoha old enough to know the name "Danzou" tended to contract. Because they knew what had happened to Danzou.

Hana took a deep breath of air filled with the sweet-salty scent of takoyaki, dried herbs from the pharmacy several blocks down the road – which competed with the fragrant soaps and lotions drifting from the bath houses even further down – and the less pleasant, but familiar scent of dirt, sweat, and all the usual smells that came with travel and rainfall. It was absolutely beautiful, and the grey rain of yesterday was as distant as the last wisps of cloud lingering on the horizon.

So Hana breathed and tried to ignore the thick tension between the males on the team. To be fair, Tekka was generating most of it, although Kabuto's unctuous politeness didn't help matters. Tekka had not shown any obvious signs of insubordination, but he was not the sort to keep bad moods to himself. And it had been clear from the start that he perceived a slight in how Itachi had treated and spoken to all of them so far: equally.

The resort where the Nine-Tails' vessel and his companion had been staying was at the end of the third street that branched off the main road. Normally, no ninja team would waste resources on staying at an establishment that luxurious, but they stopped there mainly for the sake of making inquiries. Their cover story was simple and close to the truth – a group of travelers making a stop on their way to another town. Would they be interested in an overview of the amenities offered to guests? How about a walking tour with a guide to explain the history of the hot springs? No? Then what about a list of recommended restaurants and eateries, reviewed by previous customers?

Kabuto suggested that they split up and visit some of the recommended eateries and bath houses.

"What possible interest would a twelve-year-old boy have in bath houses?" Tekka said scathingly.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. Whether it was on purpose or accidental, the new angle caused the lenses to reflect more light, hiding Kabuto's eyes. "I only meant that his protector may not share the same disinterest, being – as we might assume – an adult. The baths would also have offered many conversational opportunities and chances for guests to … notice each other."

Tekka sneered and offered his succinct opinion. "Pervert."

Sadly, Hana had been thinking the same thing.

"We'll split up to cover more locations," said Itachi. "Kabuto, you and Tekka will check this list."

Hana had braced for the worst – Kabuto and Tekka were horrible in their own ways – having concluded that those two needed to be separated to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The two men's reactions, however, showed that Itachi's decision was right. Tekka would ultimately do his duty with characteristic arrogance, while Kabuto – though annoying – would more or less bow to the Uchiha's dictates. Tekka's foul mood was only exacerbated by proximity to Itachi, without whom he would be able to ignore his resentment. Itachi had assigned them the list of recommended eateries, forestalling further argument about perversion. Hana could very well be working with Tekka, in actuality, but she wasn't complaining.

It would work out fine. It was just that, now that she thought about it, it stuck her with the other Uchiha. Not exactly the lesser of three evils, and in fact, possibly worse, because it was the most unpredictable one of the three.

She tore her eyes from Kabuto and Tekka, whom she had been absently watching as they receded into the crowd. "And we're inquiring at the bath houses?" She suppressed a wince. Stating the obvious – a transparent attempt to pretend she had been listening.

But he didn't call her on it. He was looking at the façade of the inn they had just exited. In profile, with the intense focus of his gaze directed at another object, Itachi's face was easier to study in a detached manner. If not for the deep lines that began near his tear ducts – one of many unfortunate traits he had inherited – Itachi was actually rather handsome. Hana could privately concede that, even as she reminded herself that his type of handsomeness perfectly epitomized the intangible ideal that the Uchiha clan seemed to strive for. Nothing brilliant was prized unless it was deadly. Itachi's face might be easy on the eyes, but few could meet his stare without flinching. If it pleased Itachi, his eyes – just standard, Uchiha grey, not even with activated Sharingan – could cut through you like a honed blade.

"Begin with that list. I'll join you later." He was going to personally investigate the mysteriously disappearing chakra signatures himself, apparently. Hana accepted the list of bath houses, remembering that the Sharingan gave him better than photographic memory. It made sense – they could split up in the bath houses and gather information from the men and women separately. Convenient as well, if the vessel's protector turned out to be a woman. Or a pervert who spied on women. Either way.

And for maybe up to a half-hour at a time, Hana would not have to be around a single Uchiha. "Thank _you, _captain," she said aloud.

Too loudly. Uchiha Itachi paused at the inn entrance, his pointed stare compelling her to step closer. "Civilians," he reminded her quietly.

Right. "I'm sorry." Had that cheerfully implied "good riddance" been enough to change his mind? She hoped not.

"You seem excited." He had tilted his head, as if looking at her from another angle would unravel some kind of mystery.

"It's an exciting mission?" she tried.

"Try not to get too excited while you're there." Itachi's face was so deadpan – and the possibility of him making a joke was so remote – that Hana had no idea if he was serious.

He had left her standing by herself in the street. Nonplussed and mildly irritated, she turned on her heel and aimed for the nearest bath house on the list. What did he think she was going to do, bounce around the bath house and ogle at people in various states of undress? It wasn't like she had no idea what naked people looked like. Although some people probably looked better naked than others. She could think of a couple examples where that might be the case… and no, she wasn't thinking about them. No matter what the great and terrible Uchiha insinuated, she was _not _a closet pervert.

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><p><em>to be, or not to be continued. :) <em>Feedback is always welcome and appreciated, though!


	2. Questionable Circumstances

**Note: **I love you ALL, reviewers, but the muse decides when and what I write. I do what I can. That said, you'll probably hate me more than thank me for this update. "A Wheel in Constant Motion" is, unsurprisingly, being obstinate because it was one of the more plot-heavy varieties of the "He was Captain" series. I have since then developed a slightly different take on Itachi (which you may or may not see in later spinoffs) but for now, he seems to be surprisingly flippant. (I feel like a deli clerk... "Would you like angst with your Itachi? How about a dash of insanity?" ...Perhaps not all in this particular take, fortunately for you all.)

_Previously:_ Two Uchiha, an Inuzuka, and a medic go to Shukuba on the trail of the living vessel of a certain demon. They split up to cover more ground.

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><p>There were perverts, and then there were <em>Perverts.<em>

Hana turned over the remains of what had clearly been a highly resourceful setup for surveillance, noting that even the hemp used to strap the makeshift camera stand could be purchased from a local store. The equipment, however, was located at the corner of the rooftop from the building opposite the bath house. The exact tilt of the small camera platform left little doubt as to the direction of the lens. It saddened her to see this kind of ingenuity wasted on peeping at the women's side of the onsen. Real dedication to a dubious cause. Actually, Hana even felt a little resentful.

She stood up, silently directing the oldest Haimaru brother to do a sweep of the whole rooftop. Nothing else stood out about the building, the top floors of which provided storage-for-rent for several of the smaller shops on the street. The lower levels included a couple restaurants, a less pricey izakaya, and a gift shop that sold incense, bathing salts, and herbal extracts that you could take home to your relatives.

"Definitely male," said Taisa, wrinkling his nose expressively. "That damp patch over there –"

Hana cut him off. "His chakra signature's stronger there, too." His suppression of his chakra must have slipped briefly, resulting in the stronger imprint in the air. People didn't often realize it, but there were two kinds of chakra sources, and even if you generally couldn't draw chakra from the environment, yours still affected the surrounding area. It was the basis for how the Inuzuka could track by chakra even though they couldn't see it directly, unlike some families with certain bloodline limits.

She studied the end of the hemp ties, the particular slant of the cut. It was hard to say exactly, but she could bet that a kunai had been employed. The Nine-Tails's vessel definitely had a shinobi for a guardian.

_So what? It's nothing we didn't already know. _Their chakra signatures hadn't disappeared here, but back at the hotel. This was a waste of time. A nice opportunity to be out of the Uchiha's shadow, but a waste of time. She'd figured that out a long time ago.

That was why she'd left Chusa and Shosa behind in disguise.

"Where to, next?" asked Taisa, tail wagging gently.

She sat down, letting her legs dangle over the edge, and ran an idle hand over Taisa's thick ruff of fur. "Nowhere. We cool our heels… just like Itachi wanted."

About five more minutes passed, before Chusa and Shosa reappeared in a puff of smoke, courtesy of the summoning contract she'd signed with them as a precaution. Taisa sprang to his feet, fur on end and teeth bared. A snarl ripped from his throat.

Hana had already rolled into a crouch, four shuriken between her fingers. The dogs tumbled over the cracked clay tiles of the roof. Chips flew everywhere as they struggled. She could see the two Haimaru brothers in an ash-grey whirl, struggling against several other furry bodies of various shades of brown and white. Projectile weapons were useless in a close-range fight like this, where even a careful throw might hurt an ally.

"Go, Taisa," she said, forming seals with her hands. Her chakra surged through the roof, making the tiles explode upwards. The burst threw the struggling dogs into the air, which Taisa met head-on in his leap.

They scattered before the impact and separated into two groups, the Haimaru brothers all ranged on one side, their flanks flecked with blood. The second group was larger, a pack of eight canines wearing shinobi collars and vests with a distinctive marking on the back. Two of the smaller auburn-furred ones were barely on their feet, and a longer-limbed dog had emerged with a bloodied throat, favoring his left foreleg as he stood panting.

"What the hell?" Hana stalked closer. "_I know you._"

Indeed, the tiniest one of the pack, a brown pug with a doleful face, started to wag his tail uncertainly. "You do? That makes this a little embarrassing… Uhei?"

One of the dogs, a reddish-furred dog with a white mask pattern and clipped triangular ears, bowed his head. "They snuck up on us! I just followed 'em out, like the Boss said."

The pack started to lose its formation, barking in confusion at each other. "Yeah, well, the Boss didn't mention we might know them!"

"Boss's orders are orders. He won't give us the rabbit-flavored biscuits if we don't –"

"All you care about is biscuits, Bisuke!"

"I'm hungry! And I got bitten!"

"Shut up!" barked Taisa, silencing them all temporarily.

Hana didn't put away her shuriken. The pug seemed the most ambivalent of them all, followed by the fox-like dog with the shades, so she addressed them. "Who's your boss?"

"_Enemy,_" reminded a pale grey dog. "Pakkun…"

Pakkun leapt down from his perch on top of the largest dog of them all, a black bulldog with a spiked collar, and paced closer in an arc. "Let me smell you."

"You can sniff from over there," snapped Shosa, ill-tempered from his minor injuries. He was the least patient of the Haimaru brothers.

"It's all right." Hana crouched down and looked slightly to the left of Pakkun to put him at ease. Three other pairs of eyes were watching, anyway, and she was keeping him in the corner of her eye.

His short, wet snout butted into her palm. He huffed, snuffling for a few more seconds, then started moving in even closer between her knees. This time, it was Chusa who snarled in warning. "Back off, pug."

Pakkun withdrew to sit down in front of Hana. He scratched his ear with his leg, seeming to consider what he'd learned. His short tail thumped the tile he was sitting on. "Inuzuka-san. We're Kakashi's pack."

Hana stared. "_Hatake _Kakashi?"

"You know another Kakashi?"

She flicked Pakkun lightly on the side of his head. "Smart-aleck."

The pug whined softly, but leaned into her hand as she scratched him behind the ear. "It's ok, guys," he assured his pack. Hana glanced up and suppressed a smile. They'd lost their hostile manner a while ago and now seemed more jealous than anything of the attention Pakkun was getting. The Haimaru brothers were keeping them at bay.

"What is Kakashi doing here?"

"Meeting the Hermit," said the dog with the shades, prowling closer. Hana nodded to the Haimaru brothers to stand down. "Akino," said the dog, by way of introductions. "I didn't recognize you at first."

"It's been a few years. And you all were very young, if I recall correctly."

"I just wanted a biscuit," said Bisuke, ducking his head.

"No one's holding that against you," Hana assured him. "Akino, you were saying? About the Hermit?"

"Jiraiya-sama. Kakashi almost worships him."

One of the three legendary ninja from Konoha. Hana's breath left her in a whoosh.

"You've got him on your hands, you know," Pakkun mused lazily. "Don't stop scratching, please…"

"Holy shit," said Hana. "He's the one watching the Nine-Tails." Itachi didn't stand a chance. The _team_ didn't stand a chance. Not that she'd really cared about the Uchiha succeeding at anything or knew what Itachi could do. She glanced down at Pakkun with mixed feelings. "So. Your pack got wind of Chusa and Shosa and were told to chase after them?"

"It was a simultaneous thing." He sounded grudgingly respectful. "No hard feelings?"

"None," said Chusa. Shosa groused a little under his breath but didn't contradict the offer of truce.

"We've got these nifty medicinal patches under our vest. We could spare a couple."

The Haimaru brothers got up and mingled with Kakashi's pack, sniffing each other's butts and socializing properly as they'd been brought up to do.

Hana gathered up Pakkun in her hands, holding him at eyelevel. "Pakkun, I want you to take a message back to Kakashi."

"Sure, Inuzuka-san."

"Tell him I'm in town but probably not for long. I need him to contact me. And… ask him what's been taking _him_ so long. He'll understand."

"Yes, I think so." The pug wagged his tail, looking relieved as Hana set him back down. "Other humans ask him that all the time."

Akino bumped Pakkun in the shoulder as he came forward. "Kakashi meets the Hermit now and then, to talk about the little fox-boy."

Fox-boy. _Nine-Tails. _"What kinds of things do they talk about?"

Akino rubbed his nose with his paw. "I can't say more. Kakashi trusts us."

"He'd trust me, too, if we were face to face."

"Maybe."

"Akino, come here." The dog stepped closer. He didn't remember Hana nearly as well as Pakkun. "What's with the shades?"

"I've got weak eyes." He went limp as Hana scratched him under the chin. "I know what – what you're doing," he sighed happily.

"I won't ask you to betray his confidence." Hana gave him a final rub between the ears. "Just make sure he gets back to me, ok?"

"Will do." Akino suddenly shuddered, as if someone had yanked on the nape of his neck. "Sorry, I think the Boss is calling us."

She stood up, dusting stray furs from her lap. "You should get going. He'll start feeling concerned."

"See ya, Inuzuka-san!"

The pack of dogs bounded off in a miniature cloud of dust, disappearing into thin air.

Well. That was something.

Hana beckoned Chusa and Shosa over. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up, or the all-seeing captain will have questions."

The encounter had left _her_ with even more questions that she hadn't had time to ask. Even as Hana had set two of the Haimaru to keep an eye on Itachi, had Kakashi been doing some surveillance work of his own on the Uchiha?

Why else had he been lurking around when the man he'd set out to meet had already left?

* * *

><p>Not for the first time, Hana wondered if everyone had so little to report at the debriefing because they really hadn't found anything, or because they just didn't want to report what they had found. Now that she belonged squarely in the second category, her inclination was to believe the latter.<p>

"We looked everywhere," said Kabuto, "but the vessel's guardian was very thorough. If you want to know what the Nine-Tails ate, I could give a report on that…"

"Itachi, let me talk to you for a minute." Tekka started to put a hand on his cousin's shoulder to steer him off to the side of the room, then thought better of it. Itachi gave him a long glance before nodding.

Tekka didn't try too hard to keep his voice down. Hana, picking out the last grains of rice of her lunch with her chopsticks, heard fragments of the diatribe: "…Don't understand… why a _genin-level _ninjaas team medic… useless in every respect…"

Hana glanced over at Kabuto, who had started carving a design onto the plastic cover of his lunch box. She wouldn't call him useless in every respect… maybe just unsettling and creepy. He watched everyone like they were bugs twitching under a dissection microscope.

He looked up, catching her eye. "Hana, how was your time at the bath houses?"

"Too short." Let him interpret that as he wished.

He nodded, a faint smile gracing his features.

"How about you?" Hana asked.

"Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to the bath house."

Hana bit back a retort. "I meant how was your time… going through the restaurants?"

"Well, there wasn't much to discover."

"I'm sure Itachi had his reasons for assigning us to these tasks," she mused. Kabuto didn't snap at the obvious bait. Oh well. It wasn't as if she'd really thought it would work.

"I'm sure you'd know better than I do." Kabuto gave her a faint smirk. "He went through the bath houses with you, didn't he?"

"What are you implying?" She couldn't quite hide the chill in her voice.

"I made an observation, is all."

Hana put down her chopsticks. Kabuto could get under anyone's skin with the precision of a surgeon wielding a scalpel. She shouldn't have reacted at all. "Of course." She pulled off the neutral tone this time.

And then Kabuto, too comfortable with needling his younger teammate, gave her an unexpected gift.

"I noticed something new in the captain's belongings. Well, one learns something new every day, but he does seem to have… interesting tastes. I'm just trying to extrapolate logically."

Hana discreetly asked the Haimaru brothers to investigate while Itachi took his turn in the small shower stall of their second-rate lodgings. Kabuto had been sent out of the room to be their first lookout of the evening, while Tekka, irritable and borderline insubordinate as always, had stalked out, presumably to restock their supplies. For whatever reason Itachi was delaying them – since their lackluster reports didn't merit an extended stay in Shukuba at all – his pretext was wearing thin, and once Tekka got over his ego, he'd be on board as well. Hana doubted Kabuto really thought they'd uncover new information; he just kept it to himself.

Taisa returned to Hana's side after prowling the perimeter of the room with his brothers, ostensibly restless. "It's something hard, rectangular. But floppy. Smells like the pack from earlier today, and then some."

"What do you mean?" she murmured, resting her hand on his neck.

"Too many scents. I don't recognize them all."

Hana listened to the showerhead's hiss from the adjacent bathroom and made her decision. After memorizing how Itachi's pack looked beside the sliding doors of the closet, she rose to her feet. "Warn me when he's about to come out," she told the Haimaru brothers.

The new object lay at the bottom of the small bag, among the largest items such as the water bottle. Hana wasn't actually sure that her handling of his possessions would pass Itachi's notice, but she had also seen how tired the captain was. He'd be so on guard that he might chalk those observable, minute differences down to his own paranoia; it was a common compensating method for ninja on high-stakes missions.

She reached in and slid out a small book.

It looked unpromising from the back cover, which was a festive orange shade just this side of garish. The title on the spine was barely readable, first because of the atrocious typography, second because the spine had so many creases. This was a book that Kurenai would have diplomatically called "well-loved" –

Back when she had been alive to make comments, anyway.

Hana turned the book over. _Icha Icha Paradise, _declared the red print. A happy, carefree-looking couple ran across the cover. Could _Itachi_ have picked up this ridiculous object? She couldn't see it.

Maybe that was the point.

She flipped through the pages, scanning for hints of extra writing on the margins, even sniffing it for chemicals that might reveal the presence of unseen letters. Nothing. Just the scent of what might have been finger oils. Taisa had been right; she smelled some Hatake Kakashi on this, or at least some of his pack's odors. This couldn't be a frivolous object.

There were at least one hundred fifty pages in the volume, and so many possibilities. Itachi might know a particular combination of pages, or have a cut-out shape to help him mask the unnecessary words on a page, or even some version of connect-the-dot to unravel valuable news in Chapter Three. Speaking of Chapter Three – Hana's eyes snagged on a particularly vivid turn of phrase and traveled down the page. Blood rushed to her face.

"_He's getting out now,_" warned Chusa close by her ear.

Hana startled. She hadn't even heard the water shut off, as intently as she'd been searching the book for secrets.

She suddenly felt certain that Kabuto had been testing _her _with that comment. Had he wondered if she was in on whatever Itachi was doing on the side? That was a long shot, but maybe he'd thought it worthwhile. After all, Hana had to admit she was a poor liar, and hiding news from her teammates – if not an enemy outside of Konoha – was not her forte. Pack loyalty, right? Another of those Inuzuka stereotypes that unfortunately had a hint of truth.

She could shove the book back in the bag and restore everything to its proper place. Go on without answers to any of the questions that had somehow all sprouted from this short half-day in Shukuba. Or she could take a risk.

The knowledge that Kakashi had emerged from the past but slipped through her fingers like vapor helped Hana decide.

"_Hana,_" whined Chusa. The dogs had caught her mood and were tensing for battle.

The bathroom door slid back. A faint cloud of steam floated out, carrying the scent of the complimentary soap. Itachi emerged in his customary black clothes, hair damp and hanging loose from the shower.

Heart pounding, Hana held up the incriminating book. "What are you doing with this?"

Itachi looked at her for a moment – long enough for Hana to realize her error. In attempting the direct approach, she had met his eyes. He could easily switch on his Sharingan and destroy her mind in less than a second.

"Hana," he said in a level tone, "I _am _a seventeen-year-old male."

"Don't try to tell me that! You're not a pervert."

He tilted his head. "You're defending my character." He sounded almost amused.

"No," Hana said, "I'm going through your things because –" She hesitated, but it was all or nothing. "Because of something Kabuto said. Did you take this from someone? Did you steal it?"

"And if I did?"

Taisa bumped his shoulder against Hana's leg in their unspoken signal for _lie. _The dog had a better sense of that than Hana. So Itachi _hadn't _taken it by force or against Kakashi's will? Then Kakashi might have given it to him.

"That's the thing," Hana said quietly. "I don't think you did."

"According to you," said Itachi, taking a circling step towards her, "I can't be a pervert _or _a thief. What did I do to earn such esteem?"

Despite themselves, the Haimaru brothers began to growl.

Hana stood her ground. "It's not about you, and you know that, so stop trying to sidetrack me."

"You were about to explain why you thought it a good idea to go through my possessions." There was a hint of steel in Itachi's voice, a coolness that promised worse to come.

"No, I was about to ask you what you were discussing with Kakashi and why he gave you _this._"

"Just let it go," Itachi said softly. His eyes took on the dreaded crimson hue and tomoe. "I'll help you forget."

That sounded so wrong, on multiple levels. "Don't you dare –"

In one smooth motion, Itachi grabbed Hana by the shirt and flung her into the bathroom behind him, book and all. He shut the sliding door after them just as she heard the other door slam open. Tekka spoke sullenly to the empty room. To Hana's surprise, she heard Itachi answer from the other side of the door.

The loud hiss of the shower turned her around.

"It's easier if parts of the lie are true," said Itachi.

Hana understood. He'd set up a genjutsu inside the room so that Tekka probably thought she was taking a shower while Itachi had just finished his. If Itachi then took Kabuto's place as guard, he'd have a perfect excuse to appear and reappear. All he needed to do was get past Tekka and leave the room. It wouldn't be hard for someone like him.

Hana leaned back against the walls, discovering with belated regret that moisture had condensed on the tiles. The modest bathroom felt inappropriately intimate, but then there weren't a lot of places to choose from. In any case, it wasn't the worst venue Hana had ever visited – not after she'd had to fish out her former sensei's body from the sewer drains three years ago.

"Are you ready to talk now?" she asked.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued, pending muse. Feedback is love and will earn my adoration in exchange.<br>_


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